Anonymous: I went from a productive member of society holding a full time job plus community involvement… an active social life, and many hobbies. …now I am pretty home bound only able to grocery shop , unable to even attend church. I had to leave long term friends, and family as well as quit a job I loved as an independent living specialist, and must live on a very limited disability income. … I've had to give up my hobbies of arts and crafts, amateur theater and can't attend plays, the ballet, movies church. … I have severe fibromyalgia so even the organic gardening I love is limited and if I over do it will take days to weeks to recover. … My life as I knew it has changed, at least I've improved enough I no longer need help to walk, but I never know what the day will bring.

George .: You lose your partner in a lot of things you used to do together and the things you still do are adjusted to the pace of your partner. Life does not end… Thank goodness.

Karen R.: My responsibilities as a registered nurse became difficult to maintain when my short-term memory, processing speed and ability to sleep deteriorated. …I thought I was just aging faster than those around me. Activities have been replaced by reading and spending time with friends and loved ones who have been patient and understanding enough to "stick with me through thick and thin." Getting the FMS diagnosis in 1999 was a relief. At last I am able to share my situation with other FMS sufferers who truly understand what my life is like and how it has changed.

Gemmie G.: Many nights I lay in bed sobbing in such terrible pain… I am told when I ask for medication that they don't wish to make my problems worse by adding an "Addiction" to them.

Robyn C.: My life changed dramatically when at the tender age of 36 a doctor told me, "I think you have fibromyalgia. Go see this rheumatologist and see if he confirms my diagnosis." I had been looking for the cause of my odd symptoms. Joint pain and stiffness, inexplicable vertigo, shin splints, leg cramps, poor stamina, unusual fatigue, sleeplessness, etc.

I had started exercising to lose weight and get healthier. Soon I realized that the exercise was bad for my health! I hurt so badly after even just a mild paced walk that I was unable to walk the next day.

As I sat and listened to the rheumatologist tell me that I did indeed have FMS, I was stunned. What is it? What causes it? How do I cure it? There where fewer answers then there were questions, and two years later, I'm no closer to the answer now, then I was then. I live in pain and with limited mobility every day. Early morning stiffness and pain… greet me from the time I rise, and are with me all day, and all night. I often awake several times a night in pain, and live each day the same way.

…I prefer to focus on the parts of my life that aren't affected by this monster. I fight it daily by staying active, trying to get as much sleep as I can, minimizing my stress…

Carol M.: I am frustrated every day because most people (especially employers), think that I have just become irresponsible and/or lazy because I look perfectly "normal".

I no longer judge people who are able to park in the handicapped spaces because they "look normal". I now understand that looks are very deceiving.

Crystal H.: I am a newlywed of less than a year, and my new husband feels that he can touch and hold me less and less the longer we are together. It has basically placed a wall, a wall of pain, between us that I have to honestly admit is getting bigger and thicker as time goes on.